Billy Dodds missed a sitter and Arthur Numan rattled the crossbar as Rangers were denied a victory at Hibernian's Easter Road.

So poor was the form of both teams coming into this match, it should have been no surprise that neither goalkeeper was required to pick the ball out of the net.

But the chances were still there and Hibernian can count themselves fortunate that they were not converted at their end.

Still, the draw suited Rangers better as it kept their Edinburgh challengers at arms length as the "race" for second place and the Champions League qualifying berth that goes with it continues at a snail's pace.

These are the only two teams in it and Rangers kept their six-point and one-game advantage intact.

Although they have still to go to Ibrox one more time this season, Hibs must now be resigned to finishing in third place and taking part in the UEFA Cup as their reward for an excellent season.

And they have the little matter of next week's Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to as well.

The first 45 minutes was an undisciplined affair with Frederic Arpinon, David Zitelli, Sergio Porrini and Fernando Ricksen all going in John Rowbotham's book.

Rangers' defender Ricksen had only just returned from a lengthy ban and was lectured for a high challenge within minutes of the kick-off.

He escaped a booking for thrusting his arms in Russell Latapy's face, but not when he hauled down Ulrik Laursen on the touchline late on.

It seems the young Dutchman is either unwilling or unable to curb his anger, but he was involved in the best move of the half.

He won the ball and fed it to Billy Dodds, who was making a rare start for Rangers.

His first time ball was right in Tore Andre Flo's path, but the Norwegian's low drive was blocked by goalkeeper Nick Colgan.

Earlier, Ricksen had done well to skin Laursen down the right and plant a cross on to Flo's head and the ball had bounced only just wide.

It was not just Ricksen who was putting in the beefy challenges, with Hibs midfielder Arpinon marking his home debut with a yellow card for a foul on Barry Ferguson.

Zitelli and Porrini's offences had both been handball, with the former's a pointless attempt to stop a Stefan Klos clearance.

The Italian's was more controversial as it was committed right on the edge of the area and prevented Mixu Paatelainen, who had robbed Claudio Reyna of possession, from sending Latapy through.

Franck Sauzee, the home side's inspirational skipper, was back from injury and resumed free-kick duty.

But he was too high from that inviting range and later forced Klos into a punch away from a more difficult angle.

Rod Wallace, who was again playing behind the front two, had the ball in the net, but a marginal offside decision had already been given against him.

The little Englishman also headed wide after Flo and Bert Konterman had indulged in a little penalty area head tennis and Colgan had found himself exposed at the back post.

Hibs' best chance of the half fell to Laursen when a Zitelli cross from the other flank went straight through to him. He had plenty of goal to aim at, but dragged his shot across goal and wide.

An exchange of set-pieces pretty much summed up the rest of the first-half chances.

Konterman fizzed a free-kick straight at Colgan at one end and Grant Brebner, a ninth-minute replacement for the injured Mathias Jack in midfield, saw a goalbound header from a corner deflected over by his challenger.

Hibernian started the stronger after the interval, but neither Brebner nor Zitelli could hit the target when so invited.

Dodds became the fifth man in the book for a foul on Brebner and soon afterwards missed an absolute sitter.

Again Ricksen was involved, getting in behind Laursen from Reyna's excellent diagonal ball.

The cross into the six-yard box was perfect too, but somehow Dodds managed to bundle the ball back across goal and round the post.

Numan, who had been making his first start in almost two months because of injury, was then denied by a combination of Colgan's fingertips and the crossbar.

The ball bounced back into the danger zone and Sauzee did enough to put Wallace off. Within seconds though, the Rangers forward had another close-range opportunity and the home fans were relieved when he blazed over wildly.

This was a period of Rangers supremacy and Hibs just could not stop giving them the ball, often deep in their own half.

Ricksen again did well to put in a quality cross, but this time Dodds could not even connect with his head.

Ricksen was enjoying himself now and regularly getting the better of Laursen.

In came another cross from the Dutchman and it needed Sauzee to stop Dodds having another go, but the resulting corners were never as dangerous.

One did trouble Hibs late on and it was Jorg Albertz who sent it to the far post, where Sauzee diverted it across goal and only just wide of the far post, but in the end it was a night when you knew no-one was going to score.